We’re delighted to meet all of you here at Fresh Fiction. This has been a great
year for the Murder, She Wrote series of mysteries. It’s our 25th
anniversary! There are now 42 books in the series which is based on the popular
television series starring Angela Lansbury. The 43rd is written and at the
publisher. While the show stopped production years ago (although you can see
episodes in syndication on many cable services), you can still follow the
exploits of our intrepid amateur sleuth as she trips over bodies and stays one
step ahead of the police in tracking down murderers. Each book is an original
mystery that finds Jessica Fletcher solving crimes all over the world, as well
as in her beloved Cabot Cove, Maine.
The latest book, DEATH OF A
BLUE BLOOD (October 2014), brings readers to the Cotswolds, a part of the
charming English countryside with rolling hills of farms and villages, thatched
cottages and quaint pubs, and Castorbrook Castle, home to the Earl and Countess
of Norrance. The lord and lady of the manor have invited Jessica Fletcher and
her dear friend Scotland Yard Inspector George Sutherland to be their guests at
a New Year’s Eve ball. Joining them will be the earl’s crotchety mother, and the
couple’s bickering children, along with a colorful assortment of upstairs
visitors and downstairs staff.
If this is sounding a bit like the PBS program Downton Abbey or,
reaching farther back, Upstairs, Downstairs, you’ve made a good guess.
While DEATH OF A BLUE BLOOD
takes place in current times, it owes a debt of gratitude to these great
shows that brought to the small screen the elegant lives of fictional British
aristocratic families.
In DEATH OF A
BLUE BLOOD , before she even has a chance to meet her host and hostess,
Jessica discovers a woman lying dead on a garden path. It turns out she was the
family’s former nanny, and the mystery begins.
This is the sixth or seventh book in which the character of Inspector George
Sutherland is featured (we lose track). They met in the very first book, GIN
& DAGGERS, and have been carrying on a flirtation throughout the series.
While Jessica and George continue to have warm feelings for each other, they
understand that more than an ocean separates their lives. Even so, many readers
still root for their romance, although some tell us that any love interest for
Jessica should be her Cabot Cove friend, Dr. Seth Hazlitt.
We’re sure you’ll enjoy DEATH OF A BLUE BLOOD and
hope you’ll pick up other Murder, She Wrote mysteries. There are a lot
to choose from. If you have a favorite book in the series, please let us know.
Donald Bain
Renée Paley-Bain
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